Blog posts Readers Recommends - 8 May 2023

by Meghan America

Reader's Recommends is our weekly live session, streamed live on Facebook, where we recommend the best, the popular and the latest Reads from all genres and WHY you should read them! 

Each week our representative, Thomas Bulpin, is joined by a few representatives from different publishing companies. In this week's edition, Thomas is joined by Ammaarah Gamieldien from Penguin Random House, Melitta Kwak from NB Publishers and Frances Thorndike from Pan Macmillan, highlighting brand new adult fiction and non-fiction titles.

Giving an inside perspective on the story behind the books and what makes it stand out from others in its genre.

 

Ammaarah's Recommends: 

Go As A River by Shelley Read

On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family's farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a dishevelled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

From the legendary actor and best-selling author: a novel about the making of a star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film… and the humble comic books that inspired it.

Funny, touching, and wonderfully thought-provoking, while also capturing the changes in America and American culture since World War II.

Modern Cape Malay Cooking by Cariema Isaacs

Though traditional Cape Malay cuisine and recipes have stood the test of time, adaptations have given rise to a culinary fusion. 
This is especially thanks to the Cape Malay millennial generation that craves popular dishes from the East and West, such as a comforting pasta or a quick stir-fry, but with a Cape Malay twist – this means it must be spicy, it must be saucy and it must be packed with flavour!

Melitta's Recommends: 

I am Ella by Joanne Jowell

Ella Blumenthal’s story of surviving the Holocaust and building a new life in South Africa is a lesson in resilience, attitude and joy. 

After decades, Ella is finally ready to tell her full story to bestselling author Joanne Jowell.

Cape Malay Cooking by Fatima Sydow

In this book Fatima takes us on a nostalgic journey through her memories of the many important feasts celebrated in her Cape Malay culture. Woven through her memories are recipes for salt and pepper chicken, bean curry, Ramadaan boeka plates, Labarang sweet treats, desserts – and her ultimate braai ideas.

Riding Life by Grant Lottering

He was told he would never cycle again. But South African ultra-endurance cyclist Grant Lottering doesn’t take no for an answer.
In 2013, Lottering’s heart stopped after a gruesome accident in the Italian Alps. Doctors said he would never ride again. Since then, he has completed many gruelling rides through some of the toughest terrain on the planet.

His story – proving that the human body can achieve the near impossible if you have the right mindset – is an inspiration to millions.

 

Frances Thorndike – Pan Macmillan South Africa

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley

Spanning a lifetime of love and loss, crossing borders and oceans, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, co-authored by her son Harry Whittaker, draws Lucinda Riley's saga to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion.

The Snakehead Keefe by Patrick Radden

In this thrilling panorama of real-life events, the bestselling author of Empire of Pain investigates a secret world run by a surprising criminal: a charismatic middle-aged grandmother, who from a tiny noodle shop in New York’s Chinatown, managed a multimillion-dollar business smuggling people. 

 A mesmerizing narrative about the rise and fall of an unlikely international crime boss. 

Under The Whispering Door by Tj Klune

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.
And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.
But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.
Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

Readers Warehouse Recommends:

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances. 

Nisha, 45, lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband inexplicably cuts her off entirely. She doesn't even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. That's because Sam - 47, middle-aged, struggling to keep herself and her family afloat - has accidentally taken Nisha's gym bag. 

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

David and Cheryl Burroughs were living the dream life when tragedy struck. Now, five years after that terrible night, Cheryl is remarried. And David is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison for the brutal murder of their son.

Simply Lies by David Baldacci

A twisting new psychological thriller in which two women—one a former detective, the other a dangerous con artist—go head-to-head in an electrifying game of cat and mouse.

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. 

But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fueled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation.  

Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.  


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